Monthly Press Review April 2026

May 6th, 2026

This monthly press review covers topics such as Eurafrican migration control, migration, social movements, and displacement in African countries, as well as news on the European border regime.

The selection of these articles is somewhat rough and contingent, biased towards our interest in popular uprisings and social and migration movements, as well as border politics and the militarisation of social relations.

The main sources are news outlets such as AJE, the Guardian and the New York Times, as well as newsletters from various other sources. As we have learned, particularly following the events in Gaza, it is important to supplement the European, and especially the German, news landscape with articles from abroad. If you would like to contribute articles from other sources, please let us know at contact[at]migration-control.info.

For a more distiguished way of doing press reviews, and more fokused on European developments, please Also see migreurop Press Review July 2025, and the ERCE Press Review.

We also recommend the SWP Web Monitore, especially Nahost/ Nordafrika, and Subsahara-Afrika.

All Africa

29.04.26 Guardian: Calls for humanitarian corridor through strait of Hormuz as Iran war hits vital aid: Soaring oil prices and the blockade are preventing food, fuel and medicine being delivered to millions of people in desperate need, say NGOs

See also Guardian 03.04.26: ‘Food security timebomb’: a visual guide to the Gulf fertiliser blockade: A third of the global trade in raw materials for fertiliser passes through the maritime choke point, which is also the route for 20% of shipments of natural gas, which is required to make it; Guardian 01.05.26: Iran war may cause food shortages in Africa, world’s largest fertiliser firm says: The Iran war could have “dramatic consequences”, causing food shortages and price rises in some of Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable communities

17.04.26 AR: IMF outlook for Africa: ‘War in the Middle East threatens hard-gained reforms’: The IMF’s Montie Mlachila warns that a ‘shock after shock’ cycle and unprecedented aid cuts are threatening Africa’s hard-won economic reforms, leaving oil importers and fragile states with dwindling buffers to navigate a volatile global market.

11.04.26 AR: Trump’s African deportation deals: A costly and controversial experiment: DRC is the tenth known African country to agree to take in migrants expelled by the US under a system widely criticised for violating human rights and international law – and used by the Trump administration as diplomatic leverage. Here is a breakdown in infographics.

09.04.26 AR: Africa slams the door on extractive US health deals: From Zimbabwe to Kenya, leaders are rejecting ‘America First’ agreements that trade medical aid for 25-year data access and critical minerals.

North Africa:

28.04.26 MMC: North Africa, Quarter 1, 2026:
Severe maritime conditions across the Mediterranean have disrupted departures while sharply increasing the risks of sea crossings, contributing to observed shifts in routes and heightened mortality. As of early April 2026, at least 990 people have died or gone missing across the Mediterranean, making this one of the deadliest starts to a year since 2014. Many incidents occurred along the CMR, particularly from Libya and Tunisia. Irregular sea arrivals to Italy declined by 32% in early 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. Libya remains the main departure point (87%) while the share of departures from Tunisia and Algeria has increased.
Ceuta has become the main entry point into Spain in early 2026, with 1,819 arrivals as of 31 March. Overall arrivals to Spain declined by 48% compared to early 2025, driven by a drop along the Atlantic Route (-82%). In contrast, arrivals along the WMR increased (+68%), confirming its growing prominence.

Libya

12.03.26 (!) Infomigrants: Méditerranée : 2 500 migrants interceptés en mer et ramenés de force en Libye depuis le début de l'année 2026: Parmi eux, se trouvent 2 260 hommes, 200 femmes et 60 enfants.

Morocco

21.04.26 AR: Morocco and US accelerate military alliance, leaving Algeria in the cold: A new 10-year defence roadmap signed at the Pentagon moves Rabat beyond simple arms deals toward full NATO-style integration, leaving a rigid Algiers increasingly isolated.

19.04.26 AJE: Trapped Between Borders and Burocracy: Sudanese refugees have begun appearing along Morocco’s eastern frontier in growing numbers since war erupted in Sudan in April 2023. But even when they reach Morocco, many say they still do not feel safe. They are left trapped in legal and financial limbo: unable to move on to Europe, and never fully secure from being forced south towards the border they risked everything to cross.

East Africa

Ethiopia

16.04.26 AR: Ethiopia: Abiy’s renewed port push signals pressure at home and leverage abroad: From cost to control, the Ethiopian prime minister has reframed sea access as a security issue, arguing that reliance on external routes leaves his country exposed. He extended the argument to digital infrastructure, linking undersea cables, satellite dependence and cross-border data routing to what he described as constrained national confidentiality.

01.04.26 AR: Ethiopia: Why Tigray’s industrial heart has failed to restart: Tigray is entering a new phase, three years after the war. It is defined less by reconstruction than by paralysis, political fragmentation and a recalibration of alliances that is raising concern in Addis Ababa.

Sudan

30.04.26 ACLED: The Sudan War Borken Down: [Youtube Video] ACLED CEO Professor Clionadh Raleigh and ACLED Senior Research Assistant Nohad Eltayeb unpack the drivers of this new phase of war: the UAE’s role in RSF supply routes and political pressure on SAF, how Chad’s border closure has driven up RSF transport and fuel costs, militia networks stretching toward Niger, and how fractured loyalties and fluid alliances are entrenching long-term conflict fragmentation. Low-level warfare will be the future for HoA.

See also Guardian 28.04.26: Sudan paramilitary leaders acquired £17.7m property portfolio in Dubai, investigation reveals; 21.04.26 AR: Is Ethiopia playing both sides in Sudan’s war?: The report, centred on activity at a base in Asosa, western Ethiopia, paints a picture of logistics movements, vehicle transfers and possible weapons retrofitting linked to RSF supply lines; AR 19.04.26 AR: War in Sudan: Who boosts Hemeti’s belief that he can win?: Into the third year of Sudan’s civil war, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as ‘Hemeti’, has been forced to fall back on his strongholds in Darfur. He is, nevertheless, counting on the reach and strength of his networks to strike back.

29.04.26 TNH: How Sudan’s El Obeid survives drone strikes and siege warfare: Home to a key army base, the city’s residents have endured drone attacks and a long-running siege imposed by the paramilitary-turned-rebel RSF, while taking in more than a million displaced people who are living in camps and with host families.

Also see France 24, 14.04.26: Sudan drone strikes kill nearly 700 in three months as civil war reaches grim milestone

14.04.26 TNH: Sudanese communities are rebuilding under fire. Will Berlin back them?: The dominant story told in policy circles about Sudan is one of collapse. But the story from the ground – documented by mutual aid networks, frontline responders, and diaspora groups – is one of extraordinary, determined rebuilding: by Sudanese people, under fire, with remarkably little international support. The only ceasefires that have so far held have, meanwhile, been highly localised, based on local committees, leadership, and institutions negotiating between themselves.
The ERRs were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in both 2024 and 2025. Yet they receive less than 1% of international humanitarian funding to Sudan.

See also 15.04.26 SWR: Three Years of War Push Millions of Sudanese Into Hunger and Extreme Poverty: Spiking Fuel, Fertilizer, and Shipping Costs from Iran War Raise Famine Risks Reuters 15.04.26: Countries pledge nearly $1.8 billion to ease Sudan hunger crisis; taz 15.04.26: „Wir sehen dieselben alten Gesichter“; Guardian 15.04.26: More than £1bn pledged for Sudan as humanitarian crisis deepens; 15.04.26 Guardian: Hunger, bribery and ruin: Darfur after three years of Sudan’s civil war – in pictures [pictures from Tawila by Jerome Tubina]; SWP 10.04.26: International Sudan Conference in Berlin: Time for a change of perspective;

10.04.26 Quantara: "All the fundamentals of genocide are present" Genocide scholar Scott Straus examines the dynamics of violence in Darfur, arguing that international inaction on Sudan highlights a broader crisis in genocide prevention. Gaza is also part of the story. For a large part of the world, there is a conviction that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, and no one did anything about it. In fact, major states backed Israel and condemned those who criticised Israel as antisemitic. As a result, the moral authority of the term genocide weakened, lost legitimacy.

08.04.26 FA: Don’t Partition Sudan Again: Partition would be a grave mistake. Dividing Sudan will not yield economically viable states, nor will it bring an end to the violence that has plagued the country since before its independence in 1956.

03.04.26 SMW: Sudan Ruler Names Hardliner Yasser Atta Chief of Staff: The choice of Al-Atta as Chief of Staff carries clear political and strategic implications. He is widely regarded as one of the most hardline figures within the military leadership, with a record of opposing negotiations and advocating for total victory over the RSF, which Al-Burhan himself has echoed on several occassions.
In previous statements, Al-Atta has rejected ceasefire initiatives and insisted that the war must continue until the RSF is defeated or surrenders. He has also publicly declared that the military intends to maintain power for decades after the war, framing civilian rule as subordinate to military authority.

31.03.26 adf: Sudan War Becomes ‘Direct Security Threat’ to Chad: Chadian President Déby vows retaliation against future attacks from Sudan

See Also Monde Afrique 27.03.26: La guerre au Soudan s’invite au Tchad: Ndjamena a interdit aux populations de franchir la frontière empêchant ainsi les femmes et les enfants qui fuient les horreurs de la guerre soudanaise de se sécuriser dans les camps de réfugiés au Tchad.

West Africa and Sahel

28.04.26 MMC: West Africa, Quarter 1, 2026:
The Atlantic Route continues to contract in early 2026 (-82% y/y), driving an overall decline in arrivals to Spain (-48% y/y; -37% q/q), while movements increasingly shift towards the Western Mediterranean Route (+68% y/y), with an expansion at Ceuta (+435%).
Mauritania strengthened cooperation with Senegal, including the regularisation of around 28,000 Senegalese, while expanding controls, arrests and deportations in northern regions.
Nigeria and the European Union strengthened cooperation on migration and border management, including increased surveillance, personnel and infrastructure, alongside expanded engagement with Frontex and Europol.
Chad tightened border controls in response to rising insecurity along the Sudan border, closing its eastern border and relocating at least 2,300 refugees. Refugee numbers in Chad have risen by nearly 20% y/y.
Guinea raised concerns over deportation practices from Germany, calling to pause returns and potentially review the 2018 migration agreement in a context of broader EU efforts to strengthen return policies.
‘Expulsions from Algeria to Niger reached record levels in 2025, with over 34,000 migrants and refugees expelled‘ (+9% y/y).
Interceptions in The Gambia, including over 780 migrants and refugees in early January, reflect its growing role as a departure point along the Atlantic route, amid shifting routes from traditional hubs.

21.04.26 SWP: Affirming Economic Sovereignty: Resource Nationalism in the Sahel: Military regimes in the Sahel increasingly use resource nationalism in the mining sector. Aiming for higher state revenues, their coercive methods may deter businesses, and it is doubtful whether citizens benefit or elites profit.

Benin

14.04.26 DW: Benin's finance minister wins presidential election with 94%: Wadagni, 49, is the candidate of the alliance between the Progressive Union Renewal (UPR) and the Republican Bloc (BR). He had been widely tipped to win after being endorsed by outgoing President Patrice Talon.

Burkina Faso

28.04.26 HRW: Burkina Faso’s Dubious Military Reserve Plan: Burkina Faso’s Council of Ministers adopted a draft law on April 24 to create a 100,000-strong military reserve by the end of 2026. Burkina Faso’s military already relies on tens of thousands of civilian auxiliaries known as the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland (Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie, VDPs). In several reports, Human Rights Watch has documented how VDPs have committed numerous grave abuses, including summary executions, looting, and forced displacement of minority communities. Expanding this model risks replicating and multiplying these harms.

24.04.26 RFI: Associations suspendues au Burkina Faso, entre surprise et appréhension: Au Burkina Faso, quelques jours après la dissolution d'une centaine d'associations, pour la plupart engagées dans la défense des droits humains, ce sont cette fois plus de 350 associations qui ont été suspendues depuis lundi 21 avril.

09.04.26 APA: Burkina seizes over CFA 624 million worth of contraband: Conducted over a three-week period from March 20 to April 5, 2026, the operation led to the interception of large quantities of goods intended for illegal distribution across the national territory. Seized items included sugar, cooking oil, tomato paste, spaghetti, cigarettes, engine oil, mercury, and various other products.

03.04.26 BBC: Burkina Faso must 'forget' about democracy, military leader says: Democracy "kills" and the people of Burkina Faso must "forget" it, the country's military ruler has said in an interview aired on state television. "Wherever they [Western powers] try to establish democracy in the world, it's always accompanied by bloodshed," Traoré said in his interview.

02.04.26 RFI: Human Rights Watch au Burkina: «Les abus envers la communauté Peule sont une forme de nettoyage ethnique»: [Interview] Les 57 incidents documentés par l'ONG illustrent la crise profonde et violente que traverse ce pays, sous la coupe d'une junte militaire qui n'arrive pas à endiguer la vague jihadiste.

Ghana

02.04.26 AR: Ghana’s silent fixers: The powerbrokers shaping West Africa’s most stable economy: These are Ghana’s ‘silent fixers’, individuals who sit at the intersection of capital, politics and social influence. Some are kingmakers in corporate Ghana. Others are bridge-builders between rival political camps. A few wield moral authority that rivals the state itself.

Mali

25.04.26 Guardian: Militants and separatists launch coordinated attacks across Mali: Islamic militants and separatists attacked several locations in Mali’s capital and other cities on Saturday in one of the largest coordinated attacks in the country in recent years. The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bamako’s international airport and four other cities in central and northern Mali on its website, Az-Zallaqa. It said the attacks were carried out jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist group.

Niger

13.04.26 AfricaNews: Niger junta says it suspended nearly 3,000 NGOs in 2025: Niger's military government suspended the activities of 2,900 of the 4,700 registered local and foreign non-governmental organisations and development agencies, the interior minister said.

28.03.26 Seneweb: "Domol Leydi", these self-defense organizations established by General Tiani in Niger: These groups are tasked with "awareness-raising, intelligence-gathering, and self-defense missions within their respective territories."

Nigeria

12.04.26 Guardian: Nigerian airstrike targeting jihadists reportedly kills at least 100 civilians: The Nigerian military often conducts air raids to battle armed groups who use vast forest enclaves, and have killed at least 500 civilians since 2017, according to an Associated Press tally of reported deaths.

Sub Saharan Africa

Madagascar

20.04.26 Guardian: Arrests fuel fears among Madagascar’s gen Z protesters that new regime no better than one they overthrew: Four Gen Z activists, Herizo Andriamanantena, Miora Rakotomalala, Dina Randrianarisoa and Nomena Ratsihorimanana, were arrested on 12 April, one of their lawyers said, two days after taking part in a protest calling for an election date to be set. They are accused of offences related to undermining state security and criminal conspiracy.

West Asia

28.04.26 Mediendienst: Mehr als 3 Millionen Menschen auf der Flucht vor dem Krieg: Libanon zählten schon vor den Angriffen zu den Ländern mit der größten Flüchtlingsbevölkerung weltweit. In der Region leben: insgesamt rund 7 Millionen Flüchtlinge und mindestens 12 Millionen Binnenvertriebene. Vor diesem Hintergrund haben Vertreter*innen der Europäischen Kommission , der Internationalen Organisation für Migration (IOM) und der Asylagentur der Europäischen Union (EUAA) vor einer weitreichenden humanitären Krise in der Region und einer entsprechenden Zunahme der Fluchtmigration auch in Richtung Europa gewarnt.

[See also Reuters 30.04.26: Israeli maps outline expanded zone of military control in Gaza; 27.04.26 AJE: Satellite images show scale of Israeli destruction of south Lebanon towns; EU Kommission 16.03.26: EU kündigt humanitäre Hilfe in Höhe von 458 Mio. EUR für den vom Krieg erschütterten Nahen Osten an; TNH 14.04.26: The real ramifications of Israel’s mass evacuation orders in Lebanon; Spiegel 03.04.36: Während die Welt auf Iran schaut, schafft Israel in Gaza Fakten: Wo noch vor wenigen Wochen die »Gelbe Linie« verlief, ziehen sich nun kilometerlange Erdwälle durch die Landschaft. Es ist eine Grenze, die offenbar nicht für einen nur kurzfristigen Aufenthalt der israelischen Truppen gezogen wird.

14.04.26 NYT: As War Chills Economy, Dubai’s Most Vulnerable Bear the Cost: Migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates, whose hospitality industry has been hit hard by the war with Iran, are facing furloughs, pay cuts and even repatriation.

06.04.26 DAWN: The Israeli Death Penalty Law is Another Legislative Step Towards Dehumanization of Palestinians: The law deliberately applies exclusively to Palestinians, creating a punitive ethno-national system in which one blood is deemed more valuable. However, it cannot be viewed as merely another discriminatory piece of legislation but rather should be recognized as an integral component of a broader mechanism of dehumanization that establishes the intent to destroy the Palestinian people.

Mediterranean

07.04.26 taz: Die stille Katastrophe im Mittelmeer geht immer weiter: In Libyen und Tunesien ist die Lage für Flüchtlinge unerträglich geworden. Trotz vieler Opfer im Mittelmeer bleiben die Wartelisten für Schmugglerboote lang.

Europe

France / UK

01.04.26 Border Crimonologies: Still a struggle for justice: seven years of observing bail immigration hearings: The UK operates one of the largest immigration detention systems in Europe, and unlike most other countries, has no time limit on detention. Over 20,000 people are held under immigration law in the UK each year.

31.03.26 Infomigrants: Le renforcement des contrôles policiers rend la traversée de la Manche plus mortelle, selon des chercheurs: Dans une étude publiée la semaine dernière, des chercheurs britanniques et l'organisation Border Forensics ont disséqué la politique migratoire menée à la frontière entre le Royaume-Uni et la France ces dernières années. Selon eux, l'augmentation des décès est directement liée au renforcement des contrôles. See Boderforensics: How „Stopping the Boats“ Kills

Germany

29.04.26 Mediendienst: Nettomigration 2025 so niedrig wie im Lockdown: Ein Hauptgrund für den Gesamt-Rückgang ist die sinkende Zuwanderung aus EU-Staaten. Ein weiterer Grund für den Rückgang der Nettomigration 2025 ist, dass weniger Geflüchtete ankommen. Im Jahr 2025 gab es etwa halb so viele Asylerstanträge (113.000) wie im Jahr zuvor.

28.04.26 Spiegel: Dobrindt lässt erneut Afghanen nach Kabul abschieben: Die Bundesregierung hat nach SPIEGEL-Informationen in der Nacht auf Dienstag erneut eine größere Gruppe von Straftätern aus Afghanistan direkt in ihre Heimat ausfliegen lassen. Nach Mitternacht startete ein Charterflieger der Gesellschaft Freebird von Leipzig aus, an Bord waren rund 25 Afghanen.

26.04.26 Spiegel: Vietnamesische Prostituierte in Deutschland: Das Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) zählte im Jahr 2024 364 abgeschlossene Ermittlungsverfahren wegen Menschenhandels zur sexuellen Ausbeutung. Rund ein Fünftel der Opfer stammte aus Asien.

Italy

19.04.26 Guardian: Italian lawyers could win ‘wild west-style bounties’ if immigration clients go home: Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to ask MPs to back controversial voluntary repatriation scheme

Poland

10.04.26 Infomigrants: Baisse des passages à la frontière entre Pologne et Biélorussie : "Les itinéraires dangereux seront plus fréquentés": Le gouvernement polonais a communiqué sur une baisse des tentatives de franchissement de sa frontière avec la Biélorussie de 96 % en quatre ans.

European Union

April 2026 EC: Member States’ notifications of the temporary reintroductionof border control at internal borders: Une nouvelle fois, de nombreux pays européens - dont la France - ont décidé de rétablir les contrôles à leurs frontières intérieures.

Reports and Long Reads

27.04.26 MMC: Snapshots on young migrants in Morocco: These snapshots explore the realities facing young migrants and migrant children in Morocco. Drawing on surveys conducted by the Association Migration Internationale (AMI) with nearly 700 individuals in May and June 2024, the two snapshots together paint a detailed picture of socio-economic exclusion and unmet needs across urban and transit areas in Morocco.
More than half of young migrants (59%) have a source of income in Morocco, but opportunities are concentrated in major cities — 85% in Casablanca compared to just 13% in Oujda, which functions primarily as a transit area. Among those earning an income, the vast majority (82%) rely on casual or temporary work, mostly in construction, small businesses, and domestic work.

24.04.26 MMC: “I wouldn’t wish this journey on my worst enemy” Realities for refugees and migrants in transit through Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2025: Based on 4Mi surveys conducted with 888 refugees and migrants in Sarajevo between November 2025 and February 2026. The ‘Bulgarian Route’ (from Türkiye, to Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina) appears to be the most dangerous means of crossing the Western Balkans.

21.04.26 RR[X]: Woman State Trafficking from Tunisia to Libya: Following on from the first State Trafficking report published in January 2025, the Women State Trafficking report is based on 33 new interviews with victims of expulsion and trafficking operations which were carried out between December 2024 and the time of writing.

15.04.26 TNH: From genocide to countless acts of solidarity: Documenting three years of war in Sudan: After three years of catastrophic conflict, Sudan is divided and partitioned between the warring parties and their various armed allies, with few signs of any breakthrough in mediation efforts, and every indication of further regional escalation. Take time to read our most important coverage of the past 12 months.

13.04.26 Atar: Exposed: The global supply chains behind Sudan’s war economy: The CID002567 Footprint: Tracking Sudan’s Gold Through Global Supply Chains,” report, published in April 2026 by the Centre for Environmental and Social Studies (CESS), an independent Sudanese research centre, offers a critical reframing of the war in Sudan. Rather than presenting the conflict as a purely domestic struggle between armed actors, it situates it within a broader transnational political economy shaped by natural resources, global markets, and corporate supply chains.

01.04.26 IOM: Italy — Mixed migration routes to Italy: Findings from IOM's survey data in 2025: IOM’s DTM Flow Monitoring Surveys (FMS) and MED.E.A. (MEDiazione culturale E Ausilio agli Uffici Immigrazione in Italia) datasets play a critical role in documenting migrants’ profiles, drivers, vulnerabilities, and protection needs.

April 2026 IRC: IRC Monitoring Report 2025: Profiles and needs of people arriving to Trieste from the Balkan route: This report has raised doubts about the apparent decrease in the number of people using the Balkan migration route that was reported by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex).

27.03.26 Movements: 10 Jahre zivile Seenotrettung im Mittelmeer: Seit nunmehr zehn Jahren sind zivile Seenotrettungsorganisationen im zentralen Mittelmeer aktiv, um Menschen vor dem Ertrinken zu retten und dokumentierte Grenzgewalt zur Diskussion zu stellen. In den Jahren 2014/2015 gründeten sich die ersten Organisationen und stachen in See. Seitdem ist viel passiert – viele SAR (Search and Rescue) NGOs haben sich zunehmend professionalisiert und auch politisiert; einige von ihnen haben ihre Tätigkeiten im Mittelmeer eingestellt oder widmen sich anderen Themen; neue SAR NGOs kommen bis heute hinzu. Die zivile Seenotrettung (ZSNR), anfangs kaum beachtet, hat inzwischen eine enorme Wirkkraft entfaltet

Transborder Summer Camp III

From the 5th to the 10th of August, for the third time, the Transborder Summer Camp 2025 brought together 680 activists (including numerous members of Migreurop) at the ZAD in Notre-Dame-des-Landes for a gathering focusing on practices of local and transnational solidarity along migration routes, struggles against border violence and police brutality, and campaigns for freedom of movement. The aim of this third edition of the camp was to forge links between the struggles against border violence and those against racist police violence. The brochure produced by the TSC organising committee brings together some of the reflections shared during this third international and cross-border summer camp

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